Hyundai Facing Yet Another High-Profile Class-Action Lawsuit

Sep. 08, 2023 4:02 PM ET by一个nthony Capretto Recall /2 Comments

This time, there's a fire risk involved.

Hyundai is at the center of yet another class action lawsuit, this time involving a possibly faulty oil pump that could lead to fires in certain 2023 and 2024 vehicles. In August, the NHTSA issued a recall for 92,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles for a faulty controller, which may cause the pump to overheat. No deaths have been linked to the issue, but Hyundai has confirmed that four "thermal incidents" have been recorded.

The lawsuit, filed in South Carolina, states that specific oil pumps contain a controller that can short-circuit and overheat, causing the oil to catch fire. The lawsuit further alleges that the controller will malfunction within the first two years of the vehicle's lifespan.

This is thesecond fire-related recallin as many years. The vehicles included in the lawsuit are the 2023-2024Palisade, 2023 Tucson, 2023 Sonata, 2023 Elantra, and 2023 Kona.

Both automakers removed the faulty parts from production in March 2023 and plan on notifying owners about the recall's specifics later this month.

The lawsuit alleges this isn't enough. John Franz, the lawyer behind the case, says that he heard about the recall through social media and that the company should have been much more prompt about notifying owners.

The recall includes a free-fix-and-repair clause that entitles affected owners to a repair or reimbursement for a repair. The lawsuit also takes issue with this, saying that if the repair takes an estimated four to eight hours to complete, it will take Hyundai 41 to 83 years to fix all the affected vehicles. The lawsuit finally alleges that Hyundai's actions don't guarantee the problem will disappear since "there is no true fix for the oil pump defect."

2023-2024 Hyundai Palisade Side Angle Driving

It doesn't appear that this lawsuit considers the number of dealerships that can work on the recall in the time frame, nor does it explain exactly why it believes the problem cannot be fixed. At the same time, the issue regarding owners being informed is null and void. Automakers have 60 days to notify customers by mail.

Regardless, we'll have to see if this lawsuit can get enough traction to get off of the ground. Due to everything they've been through, Hyundai and Kia owners have every right to be frustrated right now. Earlier this year, Hyundai reached a $200 million settlement agreement relating to the TikTok car theft issue, but aUS District Judge shot the settlement down, stating that it failed to provide "fair and adequate" relief.

Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis also face anotherclass-action lawsuit for overheating charging ports, but that case has yet to reach the courts.